In the Star Wars universe, the Sith are still behind everything, with the most powerful Sith lords working tirelessly in the shadows to rule the Galaxy and bring about an age of darkness. The entire franchise is about the light side versus the dark side, good versus evil, and the Sith are the ultimate evil in this world. From the franchise’s greatest villain in Darth Vader to the most powerful in The Emperor, the Sith have always held the upper hand, forcing the good Jedi Warriors to fight an uphill battle every step of the way. This is trust in movies, comics, and now the Disney+ streaming series.
The Star Wars canon is full of the most powerful Sith lords who are continually getting expanded on and who have their power displayed fantastically. Power gets displayed in many forms by the various Sith Lords. From incredible feats with the Force to vicious slashes of a lightsaber to sheer intelligence and influence, the Sith have a variety of ways to impose their evil in Star Wars.
10 Savage Opress
In many ways, Savage Opress is an underrated villain and not somebody people immediately associate with being a Sith Lord due to Sidious and Dooku carrying on the order’s legacy at the time of the Clone Wars. Opress was, temporarily, a Sith Lord, though, and was not a total pushover. Under the teachings and leadership of his brother Maul, Opress became a Sith Apprentice for a short time and proved himself decently powerful through pure raw strength and animalistic tendencies. While he does not have the finesse, intelligence, training, or experience to touch other Sith in the canon, it is impressive that he managed to murder multiple Jedi in such a short span.
9 Darth Momin
Originating in the awesome Darth Vader comics, Darth Momin is not a name that every Star Wars fan will be familiar with. While not as powerful in a brute strength kind of way, Momin’s intelligence and unique skills made him impressive. Like many a Sith Lord, Momin killed the master who trained him in lightsaber combat. However, it is not his skill with a blade that makes him one of the most powerful Sith lords. Momin manipulated the Force in ways nobody ever did, such as creating weapons and trapping his consciousness in his mask after his death.
8 Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren had every reason to become one of the most powerful Sith lords in the Star Wars canon. However, he was never fully sure of himself, and he allowed his self-doubt to cloud his judgment as far as his drifting to the Dark Side of the Force. While he was Anakin Skywalker’s grandson, giving him a powerful lineage to live up to, he also had the purity and love of his parents, Leia and Han Solo, that began to outweigh his hatred. In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker proved to still be more powerful than his nephew, although Kylo proved his inner strength when he helped Rey and turned his back on the Sith in the end.
7 Darth Maul
Later in life, feeling betrayed by his former Master and viewing the whole order as his enemy, Maul denounced the Sith, dropping his ‘Darth’ title and becoming a shadow. For a long time, though, he was a powerful Sith Lord. As both an apprentice of Darth Sidious and out with his brother causing havoc, Darth Maul proved himself one of the most powerful Sith lords in the entire canon. A vicious lightsaber duelist with an underappreciated intelligence and skill in the Force, Maul was as elusive as he was animalistic. Killing Qui-Gon Jinn is no small feat; despite his many losses, his longevity, and brilliance prove his power.
6 Count Dooku
The focus of half of the Tales of the Jedi, Count Dooku is on par with the Galaxy’s greatest in lightsaber combat, but he is so much more. An intelligent man well versed in many facets of the Galaxy’s workings, Dooku had vast knowledge of both the light and dark sides of the Force, wielding both to his advantage to defeat the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, arguably Star Wars‘ most underrated villain. As a lightsaber combatant, he is rivaled only by Star Wars’ greatest characters, and his legacy is only hindered by the fact he is no more than a pawn of Palpatine’s.
5 Darth Bane
Darth Bane’s creation of the Rule of Two is one of the most significant events in Galactic History, and he knocked down the first domino that would lead to Sidious’ chokehold over the Galaxy. His power, especially in Legends, was immense. Bane was renowned for his skill with a lightsaber and for inducing fear into his enemies. Combine these skills with his knack for leadership and military strategy, and Bane was a Sith Lord powerful in such a wide range of situations, from 1v1 fights to full-scale battles. While his full strength and story are yet to be explored in the canon, he remains a total badass.
4 Darth Plagueis
Darth Plagueis is more than just the subject of a story told in an iconic memed scene. Rather, he is one of the greatest and most powerful Sith Lords to have ever lived. From his talents in the field of science to his deep understanding of the Force to his passing on everything he knew to Sidious, Plagueis proves his power without the need to slaughter Jedi with a lightsaber. Fans look forward to getting more canonical insight into the mind and workings of this terrifying and hugely impressive Sith Lord.
3 Darth Revan
Darth Revan may be the biggest enigma in Star Wars, having recently been brought into the canon by Legends. Everything about the onetime Jedi, onetime Sith exudes power, from his mastery of a lightsaber to his wealth of knowledge in the Force to how he slaughtered various Sith/Dark Jedi/Jedi with ease. Revan was capable of wielding both the dark and light sides of the Force during battles, wielding the Force with such openness and purity that he was almost impossible to defeat. Telekinesis, Force Sense, Force Lightning, lightsaber combat, etc.; Revan is a master of so much that he only falls below the most powerful Sith lords thanks to a lack of canon exploration.
2 Darth Vader
One of the biggest ‘what if’ scenarios in Star Wars is what if Anakin Skywalker – whether as Darth Vader or not – fulfilled his full Force potential? Even without doing so, though, Vader is one of the most powerful Sith lords ever in Star Wars. In many mediums and through his complete and ruthless destruction of everyone who stands in his path, through his struggle through everyday life fueled by hate, anger, and the dark side of the Force, Vader displays his power constantly. He would decimate most of the other canon Sith Lords in battle just as he did various Jedi following his fall. Despite losing several midi-chlorians, his grasp on the Force and his ability to wield it with such might is second only to one.
1 Darth Sidious
In both the Legends and canon timeline Darth Sidious stands above just about every other Sith Lord and Star Wars villain in terms of intelligence, lightsaber skill, understanding of the Force, and, generally, power. The man who orchestrated the Clone Wars and subsequent destruction of the Jedi Order was so much more than a political genius with an affinity to the dark arts. Sidious was a master of the lightsaber, shown in his decimation of the likes of Maul and Kit Fisto. His knowledge of the dark side was unparalleled, and he is unquestionably at the top of the most powerful Sith lords ever in terms of achievement in Star Wars.
